Feathering-vaned windmill



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1. o. GATES. FEATHE'RING VANEU WINDMILL. APPLICATION FILED .IULVYZv 3 l 9 2 0.

l J. C. GATES. -FEATHERING VANED WINDMILL. APPLiCATloN FILED 1uLY 23, 1920.

2 SHEETS*S VENToR.

JOHN C. GATES, OF INDIANAPOLISINDIAN.

FEPrTHERNGf-VNED WNDMILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented dan. it), i922.,

Application filed .Tuly 23, 1920. Serial No. 398,468.

To @ZZ 'whom t may con 061% Be it known that l, JOHN C. GATES, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Indianapolis, in the county oi )ilarion and State ot indiana, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Feathering- Varied lilindmills, of which the iiollowin is a specilication.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a windmill havinga pair ci' wind wheels mounted upon a single horizontal shaft, on opposite sides of a housing rotatable upon a standard through which the vertical drive shaft passes.

Another object is to provide the wheels with horizontally pivoted vanes and mechanism whereby each vane, as it assumes its highest position, is moved into a vertical plane, the vane rotating' into a horizontal plane at its lowest point, or feathering as the wheel is rotated.

These objects are attained by the novel devices described in this speciiication, shown in the dran lno's forming a part thereot and pointed out in the appended claim.

Figure l is a side elevational view of the windmill, and

Figure 2 is an adjacent side elevational view thereof.

ln the drawings the numeral 5 designates the base of a standard 6 havinga turn-table 7 at its upper end on which is revolubly mounted a superstructure 8 carrying a vane or rudder 9 so disposed as'to turn the upper structure in accordance with the direction ot the wind.

@n the base or the upper structure are secured a pair oi' brackets i0 in which is journalled a horizontal shaft 11 to which are attached the wind wheels, comprised or" crossed bars l2, braced by square skeleton frames 13 near their outer ends.

llotatably mounted in the ends of the bars l2 are shafts lllformed at their inner ends into cranks l5 connected by other square trame elements 16 and driven by rods 17 attached to crank pins i8 set in the sides of Q;ears 19 rotatable on pins extending' from the inner bars l2.

',lhese gears inesh with intermediates 20 driven in planetary movement about the pinions 2l fastened to the brackets 10,

through motion derived from the rotation of the wind wheel.

Thus as the shaft 11 revolves, by reason of the gear trains, rotary motion is transmitted to the shafts le giving the vanes 23 a rotary motion independent of that transmitted to the wheel of which they are a part, and, if the gears are properly proportioned, the vanes will be in vertical posit-ion when at the upper side ot the wheel, and in a hori- Zontal plane when at the lower side of the wheel, the transition taking; place gradually as the wheels are rotated, effecting a feathering' action whereby the vanes are exposed to the wind in the most effective manner.

Obviously the gear 25 on the shaft 1l will drive its mate 26 on the vertical shaft 2l', and thus through the bevel gears 28 and 29 the jack shatt 30 will be actuated.

In order to temporarily prevent the apparatus from operating, the rudder 9 is rotated on its horizontal axis by pulling upon a rope 3l, fastened at its upper end to an arm 3Q extendingout from the rudder .shank as shown in Figure l, a spring (not shown) returning` the rudder to its normal operative position when the rope is loosened.

Having' thus described my invention, 'what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a wind mill comprising a standard. a raisedstructure rotatable thereon, a drive shaft vertically disposed in the standard, a wheel operating shatt horizontally positioned through the upper structure, gears communicating motion between said shafts, rectangular skeleton 'trames fixed upon opposite end portions oi' the operatingi shalt, vanes pivoted at the corners oit said iframes, means -for causing said vanos to be rotated .into vertical position when at highest point and in horizontal position when at t lowestV point of the frames rotation, a planetary gear tra-in lined with said wheel trame, a

crank pin in one ot' said `gears, cranks termed on the inner sides ot the vane pivot rods7 means connecting' said crank pins and vane cranks for causing the vanes to oscillate, and means for manually rotating' the vane carrying' structure into the positions parallel to the direction of the wind.

ln testimony whereof l have signed my naine to this specification.

JOHN C. GATES. 

